After the Conflict
by TridentScythe
Summary: Kamijou Touma has defeated the Magic God, Othinus and restored the world as he knows it. But not long after the conflict between GREMLIN was over, Touma will come to know what his past really was... Who he was, or what he was...


Author's Notes: Well, this is officially my first fanfic of To Aru Majutsu no Index, so have some mercy! I've had this idea a while back but had no time to write.

Prologue: Preparations

It's Christmas, and everywhere around the world is preparing to celebrate the occasion with a passion. This also goes for Academy City, the centre of the science world, as gift shops are promoting massive discounts, restaurants get into "full booked" mode with couples wanting to get a romantic Christmas Eve. The mood in the air in Academy City was positively cheery and festive.

Well, all except within a certain classroom in a certain high school, because only killing intent and rage of the male population was running rampant. The object of their hate, a Level 0 named Kamijou Touma, was desperately avoiding flying chairs coming towards his direction.

"Whoa, that was too close! That could really hurt, you know!" Touma yelled at his classmates as he dodged a chair aimed at his head. "Why are you guys so pissed off for anyway?!"

"Shut it, Kamijou!" The rest of males shout their reply. "Things are bad enough for us as it is for us guys, and you plan to make it worse! Are you trying to monopolise all the girls, huh?!" Their actions were clearly driven by their jealousy of Touma's ability to attract girls to him like a magnet does to iron.

Touma kept dodging chairs, and occasionally punches, thrown at him but he was getting cornered. The classroom was nearly impossible to escape from, with the chairs blocking the quickest path out. The spaces that weren't cluttered with overturned chairs were occupied by the murderous boys of his class. He couldn't try to counterattack as that would mean he has to stay in one place, and he wanted to avoid that at all if possible.

Sensing his impending defeat, Kamijou tried to talk some sense to the 'enemies'. "Give me a break! You all know that wasn't what I meant! Besides, Komoe-sensei is coming soon! Do you truly want her to see you, her students, bully on another? Do you want to make that peace-loving teacher of ours cry?!" Kamijou asked the boys, knowing that Komoe was their weakness and decided to use that card on them

At the mention of Tsukuyomi Komoe's name, the boys wavered. As much as they hate Kamijou at the moment, the sight of the pink haired loli teacher crying was the one thing they didn't want to see.

Touma saw the doubt in their movements and decided to break through the enemy line and out of the room. His plan was almost successful, but before he made out of the room, Touma was punched back by the other two members of the Delta Force, Tsuchimikado Motoharu and Aogami Pierce.

"Nya- That was a good move, Kami-yan. Using Komoe-sensei as a distraction and escape." Tsuchimikado was smiling while crunching his knuckles.

"You can't fool us Kami-yan. If I let you go, the world as we men know it is doomed!" Aogami was walking towards Touma with the same dangerous looking smile like Tsuchimikado's. "Komoe-sensei might cry about this for now, but in comparison to what's at stake, I must make a painful sacrifice." Aogami said while shedding tears.

Touma ran out of options at that point. If Aogami was going that far, then there's no hope of escape.

The boys, inspired by Aogami's decision, managed to calm themselves from their confusion and approached Touma, fists clenched.

"Any last words, Kami-yan?" Tsuchimikado asked.

"Such misfortune!" And with that, Touma received the collective rage of the boys of his class.

Let's go back 10 minutes before this bloodbath occurred.

It was lunchtime, and all of the girls were out because a girls-only food promotion was launched at the school. Something about a research project for the School Garden and the rich ojous inside it. As such, only guys who had lunches with them stayed behind. Kamijou Touma was one such fellow.

Touma was sitting at his desk opening up his bentou when he started to think back on his love life or lack thereof. He spent all year, as far he can recall, without a single interaction with a girl without any kind of dangerous string attached. Misaka Mikoto, more widely known as the 'Railgun' of Tokiwadai, would often zap him with lightning bolts for some reason or another. Kanzaki Kaori would beat him up out of embarrassment over the 'Fallen Angel Ero Maid" incident a while back. Interactions with Itsuwa were pretty normal except she was only sent to Academy City as his bodyguard to deal with Acqua of the Back. Index was pretty much a minefield; one wrong answer and he ends up being bitten in the head. Realising how pitiful his situation is, he let out a big sigh.

Touma, putting aside that he had Imagine Breaker and was the hero of World War III, was still a normal teenage boy. And a normal teenager would worry about relationships, about getting a girlfriend. And thus he voiced his honest and simple wish. "I want to have a girlfriend."

"K-Kami-yan, what did you just say?" Aogami and Tsuchimikado got up trembling, unsure if they heard Touma right.

"I said 'I want to have a girlfriend'." Touma replied nonchalantly, unaware of the implications of his words.

These six words set off a hidden bomb within the minds of the two, and as such they both punched Touma square in the face.

"What the hell?!" Touma yelled at them.

"That's our line!" Tsuchimikado retorted. "The Kami-yan disease was already spread far and wide with you doing nothing, but now you're actively looking for a target?! Are you trying to deprave the rest of us a chance to look for girlfriends?!"

Aogami yelled. "At passive mode, the Kami-yan disease had at least 85% success rate of capturing a maiden's heart, but now with you actively wanting a girlfriend, its success rate is guaranteed! Every single girl you so much as lay eyes on will fall for you instantly! Not even that Iron Wall Girl, Fukiyose, can stand a chance." His exaggerated (?) rants attracted the attention of all males present in the classroom. They too, were agitated by the fact that Touma can attract most girls to him without effort, and upon hearing that it will only get worse, they were expectedly pissed.

"That makes no sense! What is this 'Kami-yan' disease you keep spouting?" Touma replied as his friends' rants were making less and less sense to him.

"You still don't get it, Kami-yan? We're saying that any girl you come into contact with would automatically be added to your harem!" Tsuchimikado and Aogami replied at the same time.

"That's why before your statement takes effect, I'll have to knock you out!" With that, Aogami lifted up his chair and threw it at Touma. "All of you listen to me!" Tsuchimikado looked at the rest of the boys. "Are you just going to allow Kami-yan to steal whatever chance you have at a romantic relationship?! Are you okay with the fact that if you don't stop him now, your high school romantic dreams are as good as dead?!"

"NO!" The boys shouted collectively. They also started to lift their chairs and threw at the very confused Touma.

"Stop him!" "Enemy of all men!" "Death to Kamijou!" Their suppressed displeasure of the status quo has been released, and as such, sought to correct that with force.

And with that, we return to the present time.

The ruckus was only stopped with Touma taking a real beating, Yomikawa sending the most of the culprits to detention, and lastly, by Komoe's cries of how her class has degenerated into delinquents.

"Such misfortune." Touma sighed as his head rested on his desk, the scuffle just minutes earlier tired him out.

"Really, what the hell were you guys doing?" Fukiyose asked Touma, finding the chaotic state of the classroom along with a beat-up Touma.

"Well that was-"Touma considered answering Fukiyose's question, but thinking how stupid the answer would sound, he decided against it.

"Everyone, be seated!" Komoe told the class, forcing Fukiyose to go back to her seat without being answered. "We're now going to start class, so pay attention now!" Komoe's voice was sweet, but to Touma, he could detect coldness to it directed at him. Probably due to the incident he just survived.

The class went on as normal. At least, for everyone else but Touma. Ever since coming back from defeating the Magic God Othinus, Touma had persisting headaches and it hung around him like the plague. Every now and then, intense pain would shoot through his skull. During these brief agonising moments, Touma could hear a voice inside his head. It would speak, but he couldn't understand what its saying to him.

Today was the same; the headaches attacked him every hour. But after that scuffle, it got worse. Every ten minutes or so, headaches ripped at his brain. The voice was getting louder, screaming in a language he can't comprehend. Touma wondered if he finally lost his mind. By all standards, he should have gone insane back in the Phases, but he somehow managed to survive it. 'Maybe I was already insane and I just didn't really realise it before', he mused.

"…jou-chan? Kamijou-chan!" Komoe's voice managed to get through the haze of pain. "Are you alright? You look really pale, and you're shaking." She pointed out, her voice wavering with worry.

"I-I'm fine, sensei." Touma lied. It wouldn't do to worry his teacher twice in a day.

"No, you're sick, Kamijou." Fukiyose interrupted. "Look at you. You fit the description of 'sick' perfectly, and you're coming to the nurse's office with me." She grabbed Touma by the hand and pulled him up.

Touma, weak beyond caring, allowed Fukiyose to drag him out of class. But before they reach the door, another headache struck him. The pain was twice as much as the usual attacks; the shock was crushing his brain. The world around him was distorted; lights were swirling in his eyes. '…ma. …uma. Touma.' Touma was hearing the voice again, only this time he can discern the words. It was calling him.

Fukiyose felt that Touma had stopped walking at some point. "Kamijou, you're sick and-"Fukiyose started to say something but when she looked around, she froze. Touma was having a seizure. He was shaking uncontrollably, and Fukiyose knew she had to act fast. She put Touma on the ground gently as she could, holding down his arms and legs so he won't harm himself. The spasms lasted only a minute, but it seemed like an hour to Fukiyose.

When the spasms stopped, Fukiyose looked at Komoe. "Sensei, please call an ambulance!" Komoe, petrified by the scene before, snapped out of it and called for medical help. Fukiyose was flustered; her friend's life was in danger and she can do little to help him. All she could do for now was hope that whatever it was affecting Touma would go away.

"Touma!" Fukiyose called him not 'Kamijou' but 'Touma' for the first time in a very long while. "Touma, if you can hear me, please answer me!" Tears welled up in her eyes, a show of emotion rarely seen on her. All for someone she mostly got into arguments with.

Touma was barely conscious at this point, but he heard Fukiyose's cries well enough. 'Damn it', he thought. He tried to get up, wanting to wipe the tears off her eyes, but couldn't.

"**Touma**." He heard a voice call him again. This time he could hear it as a masculine voice. He remembered hearing this voice in his fights with the alchemist Aureolus Izzard and the last member of the God's Right Seat, Fiamma of the Right. It was Imagine Breaker, or rather, the _power _sealed by it.

"_Touma."_ This time the voice was feminine. Out of all the women he had met, this one he wouldn't forget even if he tried. It was, after all, the Magic God that tormented in him countless times in the Phases. It was Othinus.

"**Touma**._Touma_.**Touma**._Touma._" Their calls continued on inside his head. Every time they called his name, his brain felt as if it were being stabbed and hammered by white-hot iron.

"Leave…Me…Alone!" Touma screamed inside his mind. It was all he could do to try and ward off the incorporeal voices beckoning him. But his efforts were futile as they never stopped, ignorant of the boy's pain.

"_**Touma!"**_ Both voices overlapped, and Touma heard a familiar sound. The sound of shattering glass. In that moment, Touma's consciousness fell into a deep, dark hole.

"Yahoo! No more classes for the year!" Students from all over Academy City cheered as the last day of school for the year had finally close. With their cheers, the majority of the students and teachers had switched to full vacation mode, with the few exceptions of those who were caught up in researches or jobs that have no recognised holidays.

Among those students who belong to the former group, Misaka Mikoto, the Ace of Tokiwadai was very excited among many things. She had planned to bolt straight out of school and go to a certain vending machine in District 7. As to show the effects Christmas had on the Railgun, Mikoto was actually going to pay to get drinks, instead of her usual _methods_ which always made a certain teleporter's head hurt.

'Doing this every now then should be fine' Mikoto thought as she put in three 100 yen coins into the vending machine. A few beeps later, and out came a hot strawberry oden. She was actually relieved that she didn't have to kick the machine today.

"Whew." Mikoto sighed after drinking the hot beverage and threw away the empty can. "With that done, I should head to Seventh Mist and get some presents for that idiot." She said the words with a small blush on her face. Normally, the act of buying presents for friends and blushing didn't mix, but it did in her case.

'What would make for a good gift for that idiot?' Mikoto wondered as she entered the mall. 'Maybe a video game would do' she thought, before scratching the idea. It just didn't sit right with her to just buy him a game for a Christmas gift. She then thought a book would do, but she didn't know if Touma even read literature beyond mangas. She cursed herself internally for not knowing what Touma's likes and dislikes were at such a crucial time.

'What else can I give him?' Mikoto looked around for any ideas, and she chanced upon a store selling kitchenware like pots and pans. 'He wouldn't want those …would he?' She was unsure why she would even consider giving a pan as a Christmas gift. Mikoto was about to dismiss the notion completely but the next idea hit her.

"How about a home cooked meal?" Mikoto asked out loud, gaining the attention of those in the store. "Yes, that's it! This is the perfect gift for him, and I'm sure that I could pull off this much." Mikoto stated, having found the solution to her dilemma.

Whilst many people would agree that a home cooked meal for someone can be a good gift, it had certain implications. One, it meant that the giver and recipient were already very friendly, maybe even on the dating stage. Two, it also meant that whomever was giving the gift had to have enough cooking skill as to not kill the recipient accidentally.

Unfortunately, Mikoto was not quite there yet with Touma in the relationship scale. They were friends, sure, but no more than that, and she knew that. Second, Mikoto wasn't the best cook around. Not to put a fine point to it, but she can't cook. Not anything that could be considered as edible food, anyway. Proof of this fact was the time when Misaka Tabitake, Mikoto's father, ate an omelette made by the Level 5. At the first bite, Tabitake was sure he saw both the Grim Reaper and the Devil was calling him down the river Styx, and fell sick for three days. Ever since, he actively did his best as to not involve Mikoto with anything to do with food making.

Unaware of such flaws in her idea, Mikoto went and bought ingredients for what she thought would comprise a curry.

As she headed back to the Tokiwadai dormitory, Mikoto was planning in her head how to get the spiky-haired young man to accept her gift. 'I could just surprise him by telling I need to talk to him about something, and then tell him about the gift later.' Having decided on the invitation, Mikoto's mind then wandered to the next part: the gift-giving. The Level 5 began to fantasise about the actual time she would present her gift to Touma.

"Here you go. Be sure to eat up okay?" Mikoto urged Touma to enjoy her carefully cooked meal.

"Of course! Itadakimasu." With that, Touma dug into to the curry.

"Well, how was it?" Mikoto was anxious how she did on her cooking.

"It was delicious, but I think there's something missing."

"What is it?" Mikoto asked, nervously waiting on Touma's critique.

"You, my dear." Before Mikoto could react to that, Touma pulled her close and locked his lips on to hers. His tongue wrestled with hers, eliciting moans from the Railgun. After 5 minutes of heavy making out, they finally let go.

"T-Touma." Mikoto looked at the young man and made a request. "Will you… have sex with me?" Her face quickly grew red as she voiced her words.

"That's the plan." Touma started to touch Mikoto's body but-

Before her fantasy became more detailed and R-18 in rating, a sudden jolt brought her back to reality. She realised that a first year student bumped into her, spilling the ingredients she just bought.

"I'm so sorry, Misaka-sama!" The first year apologised to Mikoto.

"It's fine. Just help me pick these up." Mikoto couldn't care less for the apology; she just didn't want her gift ruined before Touma could have it. 'And maybe he'll do that, like in my fantasy', remembering the R-18 fantasy she just had about the Imagine Breaker boy, going a good impression of a traffic light all the while.

"I'm really sorry, Misaka-sama!" The first year apologised again as she finished picking up all the groceries from the floor. "By any chance, do you know where Misaki-sama is right now?"

The words 'Misaki-sama' instantly brought down Mikoto's mood for an instant nosedive. The other Level 5 of Tokiwadai, the Mental Out, Shokuhou Misaki was Mikoto's rival. 'I couldn't care less where that bitch is' Mikoto thought to herself, but chose not to share her opinions to the first year in front of her.

"No, I haven't seen her around." Mikoto answered, trying very hard as to not show the contempt she feels for the Mental Out.

The first year fidgeted at that. "I have to find her quickly and give her a message." She stood up and bowed to Mikoto. "Sorry for wasting your time!" And she ran off, just like that.

"Just exactly what the hell was that about?" Mikoto was a bit ticked off at the unwelcome interruption, but paid it no mind. After making sure that none of her groceries were missing, she continued heading back to the dorms.

However, before she managed to get back, she saw the same first year having found her target in a café not far from the dorms. Shokuhou Misaki, was currently not in her Tokiwadai uniform but in a red dress with black overtones. Given this sight, and the curiosity from the last time, Mikoto decided to listen for a bit.

"My Queen, I have a report from our sources-"The messenger started to speak in a hurried tone before she was cut off by Misaki.

"If it's the usual reports, there was no need to barge in on me right now. It could wait until after my date with Touma. I have been waiting for this since Daihaseisai, and I won't have anyone spoil it for me." She was referring to the result of a punishment game, one where Touma would go on a date Misaki should he lose. The condition was, ironically, the same as Mikoto's bet: that Touma's school must score higher than Tokiwadai overall during the Daihaseisai.

Outside, Mikoto was, to say in one word, imploding. At the mention of Misaki and Touma's date, electricity arced all around her. Her anger was reaching peak levels, and she was ready to go in the cafe, and blast everything inside. But the next words of the messenger cut her off.

"But Queen, the report is about Kamijou Touma." With that, Misaki, as well the eavesdropping Mikoto fell silent. "As of 3:23 pm today, Kamijou Touma suffered from grand mal seizures and lost consciousness, prompting the school to call an ambulance. Shortly after his arrival at the main hospital of District 7, the doctors said that he was comatose state. The girl read the news off from a note that she brought from her pocket.

Neither Mikoto nor Misaki moved after hearing that last part of the report. The eerie silence continued until…

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S IN A COMA?!" Mikoto burst into the room, demanding to get some answers.

"Misaka-san." Misaki wasn't the least surprised when the Railgun just entered the room. Her mind was still stuck on the part where Touma was in a coma.

"I'm asking why he is in a coma!" Mikoto repeated her question, her gaze burning to the poor first year who was now trembling with fear.

"T-the doctors had no idea what could have caused it, and they are just observing his condition." The first year replied, trying very hard not to flee from Misaka and the lightning arcs around her.

Mikoto, sensing the messenger had nothing else of use to her, just left in a hurry towards the hospital Touma was brought.

'Just what did you get yourself into this time, you idiot?!' Mikoto thought as she rushed towards the hospital. Using her magnetism, she jumped from building to building, just to shorten the distance between herself and the boy.

Meanwhile, Misaki remained where she stood and hasn't moved since. Her normal royal façade was nowhere to be seen; instead her expression revealed a normal girl on the verge of tears. The thoughts in her head, was for a second time, in chaos. She remembered when such a thing happened: the night of July 21st. The night Kamijou Touma saved a nun from her fate, only for him to pay the price. The night when the 'real' Kamijou Touma died.

"My queen, what should we do?" The concerned voice of her follower brought her back to reality. Before she answered, she raised her remote and entered a command to everyone who was listening. 'Forget this incident concerning Misaka Mikoto' she said as her Mental Out began to work on the bystanders. Soon, they all left as their memory of the Railgun about to have an electric tantrum was gone with the wind.

"Ready a car for me, now. I want to visit him." Misaki ordered her follower.

"I already have, my Queen." The girl replied as she pointed to one of the nearby cars. A white sedan was standing by, waiting for Misaki. The driver, an elderly butler opened the door for his mistress.

As she got inside, the driver just went straight for District 7's hospital without being told to. Misaki was so lost in her thoughts, everything else around became a distorted blur. In her mind, all she could think was: 'Are you going to leave me again, my King?'

A/N: Please let me know what you think...


End file.
